IChurch · listed 1966Church of St HelenPhoto: Martin Beale · CC BY-SA 2.0
Charnel House at North West Corner of Churchyard · Photo: Slaunger · CC BY-SA 4.0B+History Grade
History of Cliffe · Historic England
15 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade I
Historic England counts them inside Cliffe’s built-up area, 59 for every 10,000 residents. Of the listed buildings in Cliffe, 14 are Grade II. 28% of its homes were built before 1919. We have photos of 6 of its listed buildings. Cliffe grades B+ for history: #42 of 87 in Kent.
Listed buildings
15
59 per 10,000 residents
Grade I
1
exceptional interest
Grade II*
0
more than special interest
Scheduled monuments
0
nationally important sites
Homes built before 1919
28%
typical UK town 15%
In pictures
Cliffe in 6 photos
Nearly every Grade I and II* building, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Church of St HelenGrade I listed
170-174, Church StreetGrade II listed
Chantry CottageGrade II listed
Longford HouseGrade II listed
Court SoleGrade II listed+1See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons and Geograph, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its licence; names open the building’s page or its official list entry.
The map
Where Cliffe’s history is
Every Grade I and II* building, monument and historic park.
Grade I
Hover a dot for its name; tap one with a photo to open it.
15 listed buildings by grade
1 Grade I0 Grade II*14 Grade II
Historic England lists buildings in three grades: Grade I for buildings of exceptional interest (about 2.5% of all listed buildings), Grade II* for particularly important buildings of more than special interest (about 5.8%), and Grade II for buildings of special interest (about 91.7%). Listing protects the whole building, inside and out.
Every entry on the National Heritage List for England whose point lies inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary. One list entry can cover a terrace or a group of buildings.
Grade I
The Grade I listed building in Cliffe
Buildings of exceptional interest, about 2.5% of all listed buildings. Every one is photographed. Each opens its own page, with the official list entry.
Grade II
14 Grade II listed buildings
Most listed buildings are in this grade, which covers buildings of special interest. Open any building to read its official list entry.
All 14 Grade II listed buildings, A to Z
Chantry CottageCharnel House at North West Corner of ChurchyardCliffe War MemorialCourt SoleHarvey Monument 20 Yards South West of South Porch of Church of St HelenLongford HouseQuickrillsSmith Monument 30 Yards West of Church of St HelenSteel and Hatch Monument 1 Yard South of South Aisle of Church of St HelenThe Red HouseWalnut Tree Cottage170-174, Church Street176, Church Street185, Church Street
Conservation areas
1 conservation area covers 4.2% of Cliffe
Areas the council protects as a whole: demolition and changes to how buildings look need consent, and trees are protected.
Cliffe 19732 ha
2 hain conservation areas, of 49 ha inside the built-up area.
12 of the 15 listed buildings stand in one.
Historic England’s conservation areas layer, supplied by councils (incomplete in places, so a page fact, never graded). Hectares are the part of each area inside the built-up area.
How the list grew
More than half of Cliffe’s listed buildings were added in one year, 1986
The year each building now on the list was first listed.
1986 · 8
19501960197019801990200020102020
The first 4 entries were listed in 1966, 1 of the 1 Grade I buildings among them. 8 came in 1986, in the national resurvey of the 1970s and 80s. Only 1 has been added in the last 15 years.
History Grade
Cliffe grades B+ for history
Protected heritage and the age of the town’s homes, against all UK towns.
Protected heritage, for its size and in all (17 points, 67 per 10,000 residents)More than 54% of UK towns
Homes built before 1919 (28%)More than 81% of UK towns
Two measures, each ranked against every UK town of 1,000 or more, with protected heritage counting twice as much as the age of homes. Protected heritage counts each listed building by its grade (Grade I three points, II* two, II one), each scheduled monument and battlefield two, and each registered park or garden by its grade; it is ranked both per 10,000 residents and as a total, so a village with one fine church doesn’t outrank a historic city. The second measure is the share of homes built before 1919, from the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax records. History is a character grade: it describes the town and isn’t part of the overall grade.
Homes by age
28% of Cliffe’s homes were built before 1919
Every home by when it was built, from council tax records, against England & Wales (the dark tick).
18%
Before 1900
10%
1900–18
1.5%
1919–29
1.5%
1930s
10%
1945–54
10%
1955–64
11%
1965–72
14%
1973–82
5.6%
1983–92
5.4%
1993–99
4.9%
2000–08
4.9%
2009–15
2.6%
2016–25
CliffeEngland & Wales
18% of homes are Victorian or older, against 16% across England and Wales. The busiest period since was 1973–82, which added 14% of today’s homes.
Valuation Office Agency, council tax stock of properties by build period, 31 March 2025, for the neighbourhoods (LSOAs) that make up the town, split by where their residents live. Homes with no recorded build period (0 here) are left out; 1939–44 is not a period in the data.
Towns its size
Cliffe has the 95th most Grade I buildings of 1,321 towns its size
Places of 2,000–4,000 people outside London, by Grade I listed buildings.
Cliffe1
#611 of 1,321for listed buildings per resident (59 per 10,000). Burford, Painswick and Chipping Campden lead.
94 have more. The typical town its size has 0.
Neighbours
Listed buildings in the places around Cliffe
| Town | People | Listed | Grade I | History |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cliffe | 2,531 | 15 | 1 | B+ |
| Cliffe Woods | 2,689 | 0 | 0 | D− |
| High Halstow | 1,823 | 2 | 1 | C− |
| Chattenden | 2,417 | 0 | 0 | D− |
| Higham | 2,642 | 4 | 1 | C |
| Hoo St Werburgh | 8,758 | 6 | 1 | D |
| East Tilbury | 5,751 | 12 | 0 | D |
| Shorne | 1,038 | 19 | 0 | A− |
In brief
Cliffe in brief
Old houses are part of Cliffe’s character: 28% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town. All told, the list holds 15 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade I, including Church of St Helen. Only 94 of the 1,321 towns nearest its size have more Grade I buildings.
A conservation area has protected part of it since 1973. More than half went on the list in a single year, 1986: 8 of 15. The rest is about typical: per resident it sits near the middle of UK towns.
Questions about Cliffe’s history
How many listed buildings are there in Cliffe?
Historic England lists 15 buildings inside Cliffe’s built-up area: 1 Grade I, 0 Grade II* and 14 Grade II.
What are the Grade I listed buildings in Cliffe?
One: Church of St Helen.
How many conservation areas are there in Cliffe?
1, covering about 2 hectares of the town. The largest is Cliffe.
When were Cliffe’s buildings listed?
The first in 1966; the most, 8, in 1986.
How old are the homes in Cliffe?
28% of homes were built before 1919 and 31% before 1940, from the Valuation Office Agency’s council tax records (March 2025).
© Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. The National Heritage List for England is the official, up-to-date register of all nationally protected historic buildings and sites in England; check an entry on Historic England’s website before relying on it.
Sources: Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only · Historic England conservation areas (supplied by local planning authorities; October 2026). All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.